路沿 (lù yán) — curb; road edge

Definition

noun
curbroad edge

Examples

  • 路沿。
    Xiǎo xīn bié pèng dào lù yán.
    Be careful not to hit the curb.
  • 路沿。
    Tā bǎ chē tíng zài le lù yán páng biān.
    He parked the car next to the curb.
  • 路沿。
    Gōng rén zài xiū lǐ sǔn huài de lù yán.
    The workers are repairing the damaged curb.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

路lùroad
沿yánedge

路 means road and 沿 means edge, giving the edge of a road.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
足足zú
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè路lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

路 combines 足, a foot, with 各, which supplies the sound.

Open 路 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㕣
㕣㕣沿yán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

沿 pairs 氵 (water) with 㕣, which shows how it was pronounced; it originally meant the edge of a river, which led to the sense of moving along something.

Open 沿 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.